Am I asking too much?

[dashark]

I have dove most of the dive boats in LA and Ventura county. there are definately several that meet the op's description, aside from not providing tanks. that does narrow it down.
If it is the boat I am thinking of, it could have been an off day. The group chartering the trip could have had a lot to do with that.No, you are not expecting too much in asking that you and your students are respected and taken care of.
However, there are several quality operations in the area. Those are the ones that I will continue to dive with. If you haven't found a quality boat in So Cal, maybe you aren't looking hard enough.
My favorites?
Psalty v, King Neptune, Peace, and the Magician in that order.
If your boat is on that list, maybe I've just been lucky. Or maybe it was an off day .
As far as the list of boats I won't dive on, it is shorter than the previous list.

 

[horsemen]

i also only been on the bottom scratcher it was in 05 it ws great the capt would play bag pipes b4 the first dive and they feed us well something to eat after each dive

Bottom Scratcher Charter Dive Boat - Scuba Diving Southern California


same crew from 2000
from the web site
Same professional, experienced Crew for over 8 years

 

[horsemen]

I would like to know the secret about not talking to the cook as well.

I went out on the bottom scratcher about 3 yrs back for a night dive on Catalina. It was a 4 hr drive from where I live, and with an early departure time I made arrangements to arrive early, and they let me crash on the boat. The captiain was really nice, the food was OK, and there was one diver that got into a little trouble and the crew handled that well. Not sure if it is still under the same ownership now though, I remember someone mentioned that it was not the same owner, but cant say for sure.

its the same group
from the web site of the boat
"Same professional, experienced Crew for over 8 years"

 

[dashark]

I also had good experiences on the Bottom Scratcher. I have never seen a dive boat feed their customers as much food as that boat. i remember it was pretty good also.....
And the few times i dove with them, All the folks on the boat (divers and crew) were real friendly and happy to be there.....

 

[Beatlejuice]

I just had GREAT day of diving off the Bottom Scratcher yesterday! I'm still pretty inexperienced (the third dive of the day was my 20th!) and this was only my second boat dive (the first was my cert dive also off the Bottom Scratcher). Both times the boat was chartered by Pacific Wilderness who provided the DM and had several classes on board.

As I was gearing up for our second dive, I noticed a fracture in my fin buckle. Debbie (the cook!) was walking by and I asked her if she had any thoughts and she ran up to the wheelhouse and found me a pair of fins to borrow. They were pretty uncomfortable, but it was better than not diving!

Great diving, great food, bagpipes, and borrowed fins! The Bottom Scratcher is top-notch in my book!

 

[Ann Marie]

IMO there is only one way to deal with poor customer service and that is to make your voice heard. I've had DMs that have said things that I didn't like to my students. I've immediately put a stop to that by not only stepping into the conversation (taking my student out of it), talking to the Captain, and then to the charter company (if there was one). Granted, this has only happened once or twice in many, many boat trips but I don't hesitate.

I am very selective on which boats I take my students on. Diving is supposed to be fun and if its not, then I need to make some changes so that it is fun for my students. I go out often on the CeeRay. The captain is also an instructor and there have been times that the DM has put into place a gate time to be back on the boat. The captain has called the Instructor's over and said, don't rush; do what you have to we won't leave until you are ready. There are also enough bunks for everyone on board (though I do love the Magician too!). Perhaps it is because I make sure I'm friendly to the crew, helpful with my students, vocal, and tip well that I feel that we get good service (not saying that isn't why anyone else shouldn't get good service either).

Heck, I ALWAYS talk to the cook; don't you know that they are the one's really in charge?? Besides, they control the beer at the end of the day!!

 

[Capt. Pete]

For what it is worth I have dove with students on Catalina Divers Supply boat in Catalina as well as the Marrissa and Humbolt(although the shop help leaves a little to desire) in San Diego recently. All of the crews have been very professional, friendly and I would without a doubt dive with them again. I have not used them in a few years but the Horizon out of San Diego has in the past been an excellent operation if your looking for something other than a day boat. Scuba E, as a fellow NAUI Instructor I absolutely feel that you are not asking too much from a boat operator or crew! I am very easy going however when I dive with students or customers that have booked the trip based on my recommendation, if the crew forgets for one minute that I am the consumer they will never see another penny from my shop. If the crew is "having a bad day" , STAY HOME but do not ruin my dive with your crappy day. Customer service is a lost art, we should all expect better service. Do not roll over, conduct business with operations that put you as the consumer first.

 

[fnfalman]

Thus far I've been on Mr. C, Magician, Peace, Spectre, and Great Escape.

My favorite is the Peace. It's too bad that they don't do a lot of 1-day trip. The cook is first class and I've chatted with him between dives and on the way back. Quite the gourmand. I also like the way the Peace refill my tank. I run an HP100 and they fill mine slow so that I always get high 3300s to 3400s-psi.

The Magician would take 2nd because of the arrangement and the superb cook.

Third would be the Great Escape because it's so spacious.

Spectre would rank fourth on my list right now. Although it might be 3rd comes the winter because of the hot tub.

I don't have a complain with any of these boats, but I rank Mr. C at the bottom because of the arrangement. Cramped and the galley is minimal. Of course it's also the cheapest.

The crews and the dive masters were extremely helpful and friendly every time I've gone out.

I'm going out on the Sea Bass this 26 OCT 08 for Farnsworth and we'll see how this boat stacks up though my dive buddy who went out on the Sea Bass a couple of weeks back had said that it's a smaller but nice boat with a very professional crew and the open water insertion and recovery for the oil rig dives were superbly carried out.

PS I have all my own gears so I can't say anything about renting equipment. And I get seasick badly so I always stay in the open deck, so I don't know squat about bunking issues either.

 

[diverrex]

I've never felt like I've had bad service on any boat in about 20 boats trips over the past two years which have included the Peace, Great Escape, Sea Bass, Magician, Sun Fish and Cee Ray. I think we're lucky we have so many quality choices that offer different options. Each boat has their pros and cons, but the staff of all have been helpful, friendly and safety conscious. Though I do think one needs to keep in mind that the overall service in California is different (and I'm not saying worse, just different) than what you will find at a tropical dive resort.

I've done Farnsworth twice with the Sea Bass and once on the Great Escape. The advantage of the Sea Bass is at least a one hour faster trip each way, the disadvantage (for me) is the shorter trip time is spent sitting on a folding chair on the deck, cool ocean spray and noisy engines all around you. Some enjoy that and I'd also do it again. But for me I've decided I'd rather take longer on the trip but spend it sleeping in a comfortable bunk. Sometimes it isn't that one is better than the other, but knowing what you personally prefer.

 

[RikRaeder]

Little known laws of the sea:
1) Don't talk to the cook
2) Don't make eye contact with the cook
3) Never stand behind the cook
4) Move slowly around the cook, no sudden movements
5) If approached by the cook, stand perfectly still and make yourself as large as possible
6) Always mount the cook from the left side
7) If attacked by the cook - play dead

source: my rear end